The capital city of Andhra Pradesh - a
prominent Indian State, Hyderabad is a sprawling, bustling and vibrant
city. Often described as the "City of Minarets" or "City of Nizams" or
"City of Pearls", Hyderabad occupies a pivotal position in the heart of
the country. It is a premier state in terms of population, revenue and
importance. The city stands at an altitude of 1776ft above the sea level
on the Deccan Plateau region. Attached to the city is its twin,
Secunderabad, which is a part of Hyderabad and they are separated by a
lake called Husain Sagar. Husain Sagar, an artificial lake, was
constructed during the time of Ibrahim Quli Qutub Shah Wali in 1562 AD. A
400 years old historical city, Hyderabad is adorned with natural
beauty, beautiful historical buildings, mosque and minarets, forts,
bridges, parks, gardens, hills and lakes.
Popularly called as the "City of
Nizams", Hyderabad, today is a blend of old and new and one of the most
developed cities in the country in terms of politics, education,
technology, entertainment, media, fashion and arts. The standard of
living of the people has developed to such an extent that it has become
one of the happening and leading cities of India.
In this "City of Pearls", you can find
pearls from almost all over the world. The artisans here are skilled
enough to pierce and string pearls without damaging them. The other main
essence of Hyderabad is the chime and shine of colorful Hyderabadi
bangles in the pearl and bangle market known as Laad Bazaar. All along
the streets of the old city at Charminar (Char- four and Minar- Tower)
you can find hundreds of bangle shops lined up with around 2500
craftsmen weaving their magic. In addition, you can find pretty
colourful clothes embroidered with copper and silver threads giving a
royal look to your attire. The Hyderabadi cuisine especially the Shahi
Biryaani, is much sought after.
Hyderabad is known for its IT companies
and lately it acquired the status of "Cyber City" or "Cyberabad". All
major MNCs like Microsoft, Google, Deloitte, Motorola, Oracle, Bank of
America, Wells Fargo and other companies including the Indian-based
Companies like Wipro, Satyam, Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services, Apollo
Health Street and many more have their Product Development Centre in
Hyderabad.
The City is known for hospitality and
friendly people. People from every walk of life- rich and poor, orthodox
and modern, made the city as their abode. All the religious groups,
Hinduism, Islamic, Christianity, Sikhism, Buddhism, are all found here.
Roads are usually busy on the weekdays at peak time- generally in the
morning from 9:00am to 11:00am when people rush to reach offices and
schools and in the evening around 17:30hrs to 20:00hr when the roads are
jam-packed. Towards the evening and mainly on weekends, many people set
for spending leisure time and head for some hot spots like parks,
theatres, malls and pubs. A popular avenue, Necklace Road, lying on one
side of the Hussain Sagar provides a scenic atmosphere where most of the
people like to spend time. There are many popular eateries along this
strip where you can pacify your taste buds.
Hyderabad is decked with many mega
malls, recreational parks, IMAX Theater and many other entertainment
centres. It is also home to the second largest film industry in India,
the Telugu Film industry, known as Tollywood. Nagarjuna,
Venkatesh, NT Rama Rao, Negeshwar Rao, Balakrishna are some of the
sought after celebrities from Hyderabad film industry. Hyderabad has
made its mark in the field of sports by producing some of the luminaries
like international tennis player Sania Mirza, cricket player VVS
Laxman, badminton player Pullela Gopichand, former Indian Cricket player
and present Indian Cricket Team Selector, Venkatapathy Raju,
International Chess Player P. Hari Krishna, Olympic Bronze medalist in
weight lifting Karanam Malleshwari and many others.
The city has many high-end world class
hotels and restaurants like Marriot, ITC Grand Kakatiya, Taj Group of
Hotels- Taj Krishna, Taj Banjara, Holiday Inn and many others.
You also have famous international
eateries like Mc Donald's, Pizza Hut, Subway, KFC, Coffee Day and others
in the city. There are also some exclusive and branded boutiques like
Stanza, Neerus, Brisah, to name a few, where you get some of the
fashionable and stylish outfits.
Not to forget are the official residence
of the Nizam called as Purani Haveli, the King Kothi Palace where the
last Nizam - Mir Osman Ali Khan lived and the Birla Planetarium located
on the hill of Nawbat Pahad which is a tribute to the advances made in
science and technology, the Paigah Tombs that are 200
years old situated at Santoshnagar and which are made of lime and mortar
beautifully carved having marble inlay work on them and belonging to
the Paigah nobles.
Also Osmania Hospital, City College, MJ Market (Mozam Jha Market), Unani Hospital and the Osmania University buildings,
built in the time of Nizams that stand even today are the great
examples of the development and architecture of the Nizam era.
The State Library, the Public Gardens
are among the old and official buildings of the city. There is also a
Lal Bahadur Stadium or LB Stadium, Indoor Stadium at Gachibowli, GMC
Balayogi Athletic Stadium and Kotla Vijay Bhaskar Reddy Stadium where
many prominent games like Asian Games, World Military Games took place.
Every two years there is International Children Film Festival that takes
place in the city.
Other prominent and latest places to
visit are KBR Park, and NTR park/gardens that are popular parks in the
city, the Statue of Buddha on the Hussain Sagar Lake. Apart from this
you also have other theme parks like Ocean Park, Mount Opera, Elles
World, Snow World and the latest Jalvihaar. There is also Nehru
Zoological Park located close to Mir Alam Lake, which is amongst the
largest Zoo parks in India.
Around 25kms from Mehedipatnam you have Chilkur Balaji temple
of Lord Venkateshwara also called as 'Visa Balaji'. There is Sanghi
Temple dedicated to Lord Venkateshwara close to the Ramoji Film City.
There are some man-made lakes like
Gandipet, which is the largest in Hyderabad and a major drinking water
source to the city; the Himayat Sagar Lake close to Gandipet; the
Hussain Sagar Lake that separates the twin cities of Hyderabad and
Secunderabad. Durgam Cheruvu, a lake in the HI-Tech City is also one of
the happening places. There are a number of malls and entertainment
centres in the city. Lifestyles, Hyderabad Central, The City Centre, and
Babu Khan Mall are some of the high-end happening shopping malls where
you can get everything you desire.
During your stay in Hyderabad, do not
forget to taste the fabulous Hyderabadi cuisine. This Mughalai style of
cooking dates back to the Asaf Jah period, which has a typical Mughalai
flavour and an exotic blend of spices. This mouth-watering royal food
can be found at many good restaurants in the city. Not-to-miss is the
Hyderabadi Biryani; Kebabs cooked in different styles like Boti, Jhammi,
Kalmi, Shikampur, Sheek and Dum; Khormas- a vegetable or meat dish
cooked with rich creamy and spicy gravy; Rumali Rotis- bread as thin as
handkerchief.
Things to do:
If you are visiting the city in the
month of Ramzaan (usually in the month of October/November), don't
forget to taste Haleem- pounded wheat and meat cooked with coriander and
mint leaves and rich spices and Sheer-Khorma- a sweet dish made of
spaghettis.
If you are visiting in the month of
January, don't forget to visit the All India Industrial Exhibition where
craftsmen from all parts of the country and from various industries
like cottage, small-scale, large-scale, electronic and handloom
industries exhibit their workmanship, skills and latest inventions.
The city is overall a safe place to
visit. However, you will have to be cautious with your belongings
especially in the crowded places and while walking on the road. It's
always better if you avoid travelling alone during night times. Also
double-check with your belongings and baggage as you get down from a
taxi or auto. Any inconvenience, you can call 108 and 100 for police
service.
All money in bills and travellers cheque
should be changed into Indian currency only through authorized money
changers and banks.
Some minimum precautions should be taken
anywhere you travel in the city. Drink aerated or mineral water as the
tap water is not filtered.
Local Travelling Services:
The public transportation in Hyderabad
is more convenient and easy way to get around. You have taxis,
auto-rickshaws, APSRTC buses and Multi Modal Transport System (MMTS) or
suburban railway system that connects to some of the major places in the
city.
The best way to get around is to use the
yellow colour auto-rickshaws, generally called as "auto". They are
fast, bear reasonable amount and have digital meters for fare, which
depends on the distance travelled. The minimum fare starts with Rs.12/-
and make sure the meter is turned on before you get in. From night
22:00hrs to early morning 5:00, you will have to pay double the meter
charge or sometimes half the amount from your point of hiring. They are
one of the convenient ways to roam about as the city suffers with
traffic congestion.
The APSRTC inter-city bus service is the
other best option and economical way to get around, as the ticket fares
are cheaper. You just have to know the proper bus number and the
destination it goes which is displayed on the board in the front and
back side of the bus. There are also some Metro Liner buses with
comfortable but limited seats and offering service to limited
destinations. In the peak hours the buses are heavily stuffed making it
almost impossible to get in. The ticket can be bought at the conductor
of the bus. The minimum fare starts with Rs.2/- for the first stop from
the point of boarding and a maximum of Rs.7/- for a distance of 16kms
roughly. These buses run from early morning 5:00 to 23:00 hours. The
main bus stops are at Koti, Secunderabad, Nampally, Afzalgung, Charminar
and Dilsukhnagar from where you can reach to most of the places in the
city.
Tourist Place in hyderbad@www.hoparoundindia.com
